Chippendale resident Bella (Isabella) Bain is the 2025 winner of the prestigious 7 News NSW/ACT Young Achievers Award. She has just returned from San Francisco, where she joined 10,000 designers, engineers and product leaders shaping the future of AI. But back home, there’s only $30 left in her wallet!
A multi-award winner in sportsmanship, leadership and innovation ─ all before 30 ─ Bella credits her drive to growing up on a rural farm. “I was riding horses, herding cattle, fixing fences ─ basically solving problems from a young age,” she says. “Dad would tell us to get outside and find something to do. So we did.”
After being a semi-finalist three times, Bella finally cracked the Young Achievers code this year. “I think my ‘special sauce’ this time came down to experience ─ projects like the COVID app at IBM and leading Macquarie’s Corporate Operation Group’s product design team helped me stand out.”
When it comes to problem-solving, Bella applies a designer’s mindset: “Ask yourself ‘why?’ five times. Why is a product or service needed? Why is it important? If you go deep enough, you’ll hit the core issue ─ and that’s what we’re trying to solve as designers.”
Beyond tech, Bella’s creativity shines. For Vivid Sydney, she and university friend Christopher Simpson created a light sculpture that went on to be showcased in Singapore. “I’m part computer geek, part creative soul,” she reveals.
What keeps her in Chippendale? “It’s a great place to live, it’s close to the city, close to parks. I think if you google Chippendale, it comes up as one of Sydney’s trendiest suburbs.” And yes ─ it does, with Redfern not far behind.
Bella also believes Sydney as a whole is on its way to becoming the next big tech hub, ‘Sydney Silicon’. “Silicon Valley has had its day. Here in the city, you’ve got Canva, Atlassian, and other major tech companies relocating their HQs. Of course, we need the right government funding to support this growth, but there’s already a real sense of community here.”
Asked what advice she’d give to young women leaving school, Bella doesn’t hesitate: “Trust yourself. Stay curious about how you can make the world better with the skills you’ve got. If I ever wrote a book, I’d call it The Curious Investor,” she grins.
She closes with a favourite analogy: “Most people live to about 80. That’s like having $80 in your wallet. You spend $20 on school, $20 on retirement ─ so you’ve got $40 for your working life. I’m 30 now so I’ve just spent another $10. That leaves me with $30.”
“I’m looking forward to spending that $30 wisely,” she says with a smile.
